Surface Pro 3 has MacBook Air in sights with attack ad trio

Microsoft hasn't been shy in calling out Apple in recent months, pitting Cortana against Siri in a recent advert, while calling out the MacBook Air from the get-go with its Surface Pro 3 launch. Now the OS X ultraportable is under attack again, with a trio of new Microsoft commercials attempting to demonstrate how a pen, touchscreen, and detachable keyboard are together more flexible than a regular notebook can be.

Dubbed "Power", "Head to Head", and "Cramped", the three adverts each play up the Surface Pro 3's combination of the hardware and software of a full Windows computer, but paired with its more unusual form-factor.

So, in one promo, Microsoft counts up the hardware and accessories you'd need to buy to match that with your OS X ecosystem, coming up with the Air, an iPad, and a paper notebook. The latter is unfair, perhaps, since there are plenty of third-party stylus options for iOS, and while the more precise models like Adobe's Ink & Slide aren't quite up to speed with handwriting recognition, there are still sufficient to write in purely digital ink rather than use paper and a pen.

"Power"

"Do not attempt" to remove your MacBook Air's display from the keyboard section, another Microsoft advert warns, running through the features of the two platforms. There are certainly signs that the 2-in-1 convertible tablet/notebook hybrid model is seeing a resurgence of sorts; last month, Best Buy's CEO warned that the tablet market is "crashing", but said the retailer had seen growth in dockable slates.

We certainly found the Surface Pro 3 to be capable and surprisingly flexible, with strong pen accuracy and a cleverly designed form-factor that does encourage a broader range of uses. On the flip-side, there's something to be said for a really well-designed keyboard, and unfortunately the magnetically-attached 'board Microsoft uses isn't as good as the best of the Mac and Windows notebooks out there.

As ever, then, the result is in the eye of the beholder: would any of these new adverts persuade you to pick up a Surface Pro 3 instead of a MacBook Air or, indeed, some other computing device?